Delhi is likely to extend the Covid lockdown for another week, sources said on Saturday afternoon, adding that Chief Minister Arvind Kejriwal could announce the decision on Sunday.
The national capital is under lockdown till 5 am on Monday, as the ruling Aam Aadmi Party scrambles to contain a fresh wave of infections and a positivity rate that remains over 30 per cent.
“Coronavirus still continues to wreak havoc in the city. Public opinion is that lockdown should increase. So the lockdown is being extended for one week,” Mr Kejriwal said last Sunday.
This morning the city recorded over 27,000 new cases and 375 deaths in 24 hours – the 13th straight day with more than 20,000 cases per day. The city’s active caseload is now nearly one lakh – more than double the previous high of around 44,000 recorded in mid-November last year.
The frightening surge in Covid cases over the past weeks – exactly two months ago Delhi reported fewer than 200 new cases in 24 hours – has brought the city’s healthcare system to its knees.
Hospitals are overflowing, doctors are traumatised, and medinces and oxygen are in short supply.
